Writing apparatus



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J'. NORD.'

WRITING APPARATUS. Y

DREW EGRAHIM. PNUTD-LmlO-WASHINBTUMRC.

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J.1\I0RD. WRITING APPARATUS.

No. 547,800. Patented oct. 15, 1895.

W/TNESSES.' /NI/ENTO/- /Mfm afuwm.

A TTOHNE YS AHBREW EGRANAM,PHDTULHHQWASHINGIUMDL.

i other letters.

Unirse Sratrns ATENT im@ JULlUS NORD, OF AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS.

WRITING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,800, dated October15, 1895.

Application led January 11, 1895. Serial No. 534,527. (N o model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, J ULIUs NORD, a subject of the Queen of theNetherlands, and a residentof 19 Kerklaan, Amsterdam, in the Kingdom ofthe Netherlands, have invented anew and useful W'riting Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is a writing apparatus orinstrument for theblind, and also for persons suffering from pronounced myopia, its objectbeing to enable sufferers from blindness or myopia to write in a propermanneri'. e., to give each letter its normal shape and to form capitalsand such letters as are usually extended above or below the line withthe requisite long strokes or loops.

It is well known that the means which have existed hitherto forfacilitating the process of writing by the blind have provedunsatisfactory. They consisted of a frame comprising rigid 'andfirmly-secured parallel rods and adapted to be placed over the paper orslate. The blindA person was thus enabled slowly to write with his handmoving along the said rods. He was, however, unable to shape properlythose letters which have strokes extending below the line, nor was thereanything to guide him in the observance of the required limits of thedepth or height of the writing. It was therefore practically impossiblefor him to write legibly.

Now, the instrument or apparatus herein described enables blind personsto write quickly,' to give each letter its proper shape, and to assignto each the exact position it should occupy among or in relation to theIn addition to this the blind person usingthe present improved apparatusis afforded the means of knowing when a line is completed and a freshone islto be commenced. His writing will therefore appear in regularlines arranged at equal though optionally variable distances apart.Should it be necessary for the writer to discontinue writing in themiddle of a sentence, for example, facilities are provided for hismarking the spot where he has left off and starting therefrom when henext resumes writing.

The main feature of the improved instrument or apparatus is a guide forthe pencil or pen interposed between two thin ilexible rods arrangedparallel to each other, the bending capacity of such rods enabling theblind person to form the capitals and the long-stroke letters, such as gand f, as easily as the others. The space between the two parallel rodsserves to determine the height or depth of the small letters of uniformsize. The flexible rods are connected on each side and are movably andadj ustably arranged upon the writing-frame, the parallelogram orline-guide formed by the pair of rods being moved over the paper bymeans of a feeding device provided for the purpose through a predeterrmined uniform space foreach new line.

One form of the improved writing instrument or apparatus is illustrated,by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is aplan or top view of the improved instrument. Figs. 2 and 3 are verticalsections thereof on the lines o w and y, respectively; and Figs. 124, 5,and 5a are detail views of the writing mechanism and lineguide.

The apparatus A in the present example is supposed to have the shape ofa desk, provided with a lid B and with a spring-clamp C for retainingthe paper in position on the desk. Upon the two longitudinal sides ofthe lid are provided elongated slots D, through each of which afeeding-chain E is passed. The feeding-chains E gear with smallchain-wheels a a b b', of corresponding shape, mounted upon spindles cc', arranged, respectively, close to the upper and lower sides of thedesk. These spindles are parallel to each other and are situated belowand in connection with the lid, so that when the lid is raised the wholeof the mechanism is lifted along with it. The parallelogram orline-guide is formed of a pair of parallel flexible rods d d', extendinga oonsiderable distance beyond the edges of the paper on either side,their ends being secured in slides or runners e e. The runners e e areadapted to slide over the surface of the lid immediately over the slotsD, and are connected with the feeding-chains E E therein by means of thepins or studs f in their under sides. Each stud f fits into one of thespaces or interstices between the links or teeth of the correspondingchain or they may be retained in the chains by other well-known means.By the movement of the said feed- IOO ing-chains the parallelogram orline-guide is slowly moved step by step or from line to line along thedesk, and in order to prevent any lateral displacement thereof suitableproj ections or stops g are provided on the lower sides of the runners ee. Stops 7L are furthermore provided close to the upper edge of the lidin order to limit the extent of motion or adjustability of theline-guide in the upward direction. In notches t', provided in the loweredge of the lid, are fitted adjustable pegs h', similar in shape to thexed stops 7i. are adjusted according tothe varying lengths of the paperand when placed in the proper position serve to limit the downwardmovement of the line-guide.

As before mentioned, the feeding-chains pass over chain-wheels mountedon the spindles c c', and as these wheels turn the lineguidc moves alongthe paper with the said chains. A handle or key F is fitted tothe leftend of the spindle c', and the peripheries and pitch of the chain-wheelsare so propor tioned that a quarter of a revolution of the spindle issufficient to provide for the necessary distance between two successivelines. Upon the shaft c there is also mounted a roller 7c, provided withtwo grooves Z and in, and a spring-rod G, pivoted to thelid, Figs. l and2, by means of a pin or stud n, Fig. 2,engagesin the apertures Z 'm' ofthe said grooves Z and m, respectively. The groove Z is provided withfour apertures Z', so that according as the handle or key is turned intoits horizontal or into its vertical position the said pin n will enterone or other of the apertures of the groove Z, thereby arresting thespindle. As the spindle turns, the resistance of the spring controllingthe rod G, as aforesaid, is overcome. By moving such rod G to the rightthe pin n is made to engage in the groove m, and as this groove has fiveor more openings m a narrower spacing between the lines may be providedfor, if required. The rod G is extended beyond the desk, and itsposition in the right or left notch or slot r r (as the case may be) inthe plate H, secured to the lid B, Figs l and 2, corresponds to eitheroueor the other of the two-line spacings for which the apparatus isarranged. The audible click with which the pin n springs into one of theopenings of the grooves Z and m notities the blind writer in each casethat the apparatus is so adjusted as to permit another line to bestarted at the proper distance from the preceding one.

In order to enable the line-guide to be moved back in the upwarddirection, a crankhandle 7c is fitted to the right-hand end ofthespindle c. The rod G is then brought to an intermediate position between'r and r" and consequently thrown out of gear.

Upon the rods CZ d of the line-guides there are arranged two adjustablestopsss, whereby the length of the lines may be determined. Fig. 4 showsthe right-hand stop s3 drawn to an enlarged scale. nThis stop is meldein These two parts .sZ s2, with springs between the parts, as shown atZ3 d, the parts s2 being held out by the springs, while the part 53 issecured by a thumb-piece to the rod tZ and may be adjusted thereon.Should it so happen that the pencil or pen meets the stop s2 before asyllable is completed, the said spiral springs yield to the pressure,whereby the writer is enabled to add a few more letters to finish thesyllable before reaching the stop s2 or the point of full resistance ofthe springs.

In making use of this apparatus for writing, the sheet of paper is firstsecured in position by means of the clamp or clasp C. The lineguide ismoved up against the stops h Zt and the lineadjusting stops S s3 areadjusted according to the width of the paper, while the stops or pegs 7Lh are adjusted according to the length of the paper. In writing, theheight or depth of the small letters (without any strokes or loopsprojecting above or helow the line) is determined by the space betweenthe rods (Z cZ, and while letters of this description are being writtenthe said rods are not bent. When, however, it is desired to writecapitals or long letters, such as f, g, dac., having strokes or loopsextending above and below thc line, the upper or lower rod, or both,yields to the pressure of the pencil or pen to a sufficient extenttoenable those letters to be readily formed without in any way interferingwith the speed of writing. Vtfhen a line is completed, the handle or keyF is made to describe a quarter of a revolution, whereby the line-guideis moved one linespace lower down, and so on until the bottom of thepage is reached. Should the writer be obliged to interrupt his workbefore completing the line, he 'may so adjust the stops s s3 as to beable, whenever he may desire to continue writing, to readily find againthe place where he last stopped.

The rods CZ CZ will bend under the action of the pencil or pen morereadily and to a greater extent in the center than toward either end oreither edge of the paper. It is therefore advisable to make the deskconsiderably wider than the paper that is employed.- This eircumstanceis, however, also provided for by combining the rods with the casing E,as shown in Figs. 5 and 5a. The ends of the said rods are here iiattenedout, so that they slide in the casing E in a slot D', in which pins cextend, and the ends are pressed in contact with each other by springsE2 E3. In the normal or intermediate position the flat ends of the saidrods lie close together. lVhen, however, either of the rods is bentupwardly or downwardly by the pencil, tension is applied to thecorresponding spring E2 or E3, and the rod in question accordingly bendsto a sufficient extent vto permit the formation of the required capitalor the small letter that should be extended above or below the line.

Having now described the invention, what I claim-is*- 1. A writingapparatus for blind or short IOO IIO

sighted persons, consisting essentially of a desk or support for thepaper, two parallel ilexible or yielding rods extending across the sameto form the line-guide, and runners or slides in which said flexible oryielding rods are fitted and which are movable to and fro along thesides of said desk or support respectively, the normal distance betweensaid rods determining the height of the small letters which extendneither above nor below the line, while the flexibility or yielding ofsaid rods permits the formation of capitals and other letters whichextend above or below the line.

2. In combination the desk having the slots extending along its oppositeedges, the carrier chains below the said slots, the space rod extendingbetween the chains and the runners carrying the same and having projeczotions extending down into the slots whereby the space rod is heldagainst lateral displacement, said runners being carried by the chainssubstantially as described.

3. In a writing apparatus, the combination, with the line-guide, of aline-finishing spring stop adjustably secured to one of the rods of saidline-guide, and which yields to permit the writing of a limited numberof letters thereafter, substantially as, and for the puri 3o pose, setforth.

4. In a writing apparatus, the combination, with the desk or support forthe paper, of the ,parallel rods forming the line-guide, the runners orslides movable to and fro along the sides of said desk or supportrespectively, and

springs connecting said rods with the runners or slides, whereby upwardand downward displacement of said rods in the runners or slides ispermitted during the formation of letters which extend above or belowthe line, substantially as described.

5. In a writing apparatus, the combination, with a desk or support forthe paper having slots in its top of feeding chains or belts situated ateither side of said desk or support, means for adjusting the same,runners or slides connected with said chains or belts, and parallel rodscarried by said runners or slides, the said runners having projectionsextending down through the slots for engaging the chain and for guidingthe runners, substantially as, and for the purposes, set forth.

6. In a writing apparatus, the combination, with a desk or support forthe paper, of feeding chains or belts situated at either side of saiddesk or support, means for adjusting the same, runners or slidesconnected with said chains or belts, parallel rods carried by therunners or slides, and a line-finishing stop adjustably secured to oneof said rods and having a readily yielding spring, substantially as, andfor the purposes, set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname, in presence of two Witnesses, this 7th day of December, 1894.

JULIUS NORD. Witnesses:

JoNAs VAN PRAAG, ANTONIO DoYER.

